Henny was completely stunned.
She stared blankly at Vanilla as she ran off, then hurriedly put the black robe back on, the one that could conceal her charm.
Before this, even she herself hadn't understood why Professor Viktor had insisted that she always wear this robe.
But now, after Vanilla's reaction, the thing that had long puzzled her seemed to finally have some kind of answer.
The problem… might actually be with her?
A certain thought flashed through her mind, feeling almost within reach.
Still, Henny wanted to try once more.
After all, practice is the only way to know the truth.
But Professor Viktor had said that she must not casually take off this robe.
And besides, there was no way Henny would ever try something like this on an ordinary person.
Whether because she was shy herself, or because she'd be seen as a p*rvert.
So…
She paced back and forth inside the room, when suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through her mind.
Two candidates appeared in her thoughts.
One was Professor Viktor.
But the professor would never allow her to take off her clothes, and moreover…
Doing something like that in front of the professor would make her feel embarrassed.
As for the other candidate... she already had the answer in her heart.
"I need to go find Cocotte, right now."
Henny pushed open the door with magic and hurriedly ran toward the garden downstairs.
———
At this moment, in the garden of the Clavenna estate, Cocotte and Lacy were standing in a sea of flowers, facing each other.
Cocotte sat atop a cloud, wearing an expression that looked utterly exhausted and sleepy.
Lacy stood opposite her, looking at her with clear anxiety.
"Your Majesty, you..."
"Oh, this is so annoying! I already told you not to call me Your Majesty!"
"Alright, Your Majesty. Then when will you come back with me?"
Cocotte flopped face-first onto the cloud, her face full of helplessness and speechlessness.
"I won't! I absolutely won't go back!"
"I don't want to be some machine that exists only to give birth!"
These words reached the ears of many servants passing through the garden.
They all cast shocked glances toward the scene.
Soon after, the servants covered their faces and hurried away from the garden, blushing as they went.
Before long, rumors about a certain former fourth-tier councilor would probably spread throughout the entire Clavenna family.
Even so, Cocotte was still standing her ground stubbornly.
Lacy widened her eyes, equally on the verge of collapse.
"But… if this continues..."
"The elf race will eventually go extinct!"
"Then just pick another elf queen, isn't that fine?"
Cocotte slumped on the cloud, waving her hand indifferently.
Lacy continued, "But no elf is as outstanding as you, or capable of earning the recognition of the Yard Divine Tree."
"Oh come on! Then let her go earn its recognition!"
"But..."
Cocotte hurriedly covered her ears, shaking her head in extreme unwillingness.
Seeing her reaction, a trace of disappointment flowed through Lacy's eyes.
Cocotte grew even more impatient, waving her hand and raising her voice as she explained, "Why do you think I ran off to Endymion and hid there for decades? Wasn't it because you people kept nagging in my ears all the time?"
"Whether the elves go extinct or not, what does that have to do with me? I don't even want to be this queen!"
"Just because the Yard Divine Tree chose me, I'm supposed to stay stuck inside that stupid tree forever? What a joke!"
Lacy stared at Cocotte in a daze.
After staying in the Clavenna household for so many days, she had never seen Cocotte show such anger.
Lacy couldn't understand it.
Being chosen by the Yard Divine Tree and becoming queen, shouldn't that be an immense honor?
Then why was this happening?
"Because it's a form of coercion that goes against her will."
At some point, Liya had appeared nearby, arms crossed as she watched the two elves argue.
Both elves snapped back to attention and looked toward Liya.
"I just heard the servants saying you were talking about something really stimulating."
"I got curious, so I came over to listen."
Liya blinked and spread her hands.
"But now I understand."
Why Cocotte would rather flee to Endymion and become a councilor than inherit the position of Elf Queen.
Before this, Liya had been somewhat puzzled as well.
After all, no matter how good a councilor's status was, it surely couldn't compare to being the queen of an entire race.
Cocotte lay on the cloud, half her face buried in the soft white mass beneath her, only her eyes visible, clearly in a bad mood.
"That's how it is."
The Yard Divine Tree had forcibly chosen her.
To Cocotte, she didn't care what her identity was.
As long as she had a stable place to sleep, that was enough.
But inside the Divine Tree, even when she tried to sleep, she would constantly hear the elves' prayers.
Nonstop.
Like mosquitoes buzzing endlessly by her ears.
It made it impossible for her to fall asleep.
It was deeply ironic.
Due to the elves' special nature, no one could force an elf to do something she didn't want to do.
And yet, the elves' mother, the "Yard Divine Tree", had broken that rule.
The Yard Divine Tree forcibly bestowed names upon the elves, giving them different identities.
Every elf assigned a different surname had to fulfill the duties tied to that name.
And those who received the surname "Yard" had to strictly remain in their post.
Becoming the leader responsible for reproducing future generations for the elves.
The young Cocotte was unwilling to be bound by the Divine Tree, and even more unwilling to be forced by her own kind.
So, when her people were lax in their guard at night, she escaped the Divine Tree and fled the Elven Forest.
Although she eventually became an employee of the Clavenna family, compared to her former life as queen…
She was far freer here.
A race known as the freest of all, yet their queen could not possess even the slightest freedom.
How ironic.
Cocotte lowered her brows, as if unwilling to recall the past, burying her head completely into the cloud as her body gradually calmed.
But Lacy still couldn't fully accept it. She could only look quietly at Cocotte and say, "If… if you won't go back…"
"Then at the very least, I must take news of you back to the forest."
With that, she turned around, intending to leave.
But Liya's voice rang out and stopped her.
"Hey… uh, your age might actually be much older than mine? Whatever."
She shrugged. As Lacy looked at her in confusion, Liya took out the black-and-white contract and waved it in front of her.
Lacy blinked, completely bewildered.
"Don't forget, there's a contract between us."
"As an employee of the Clavenna family, if you leave, that counts as a breach of contract."
Liya put the contract away and smiled sweetly at Lacy.
"The consequences of breaching the contract… I don't need to explain those, right?"
Lacy's body trembled slightly as she spoke stubbornly, "Y-you're forcing me!"
"Wrong~ I'm just exercising my authority over my employee. How could that be forcing?"
Liya still wore a smile.
But her calculating words sounded harsh to Lacy's ears.
"The contract spells it out clearly. This isn't coercion."
"These are the terms you agreed to."
Lacy's mind went blank as memories from that time flashed through her head.
Find the Elf Queen.
On the condition that she sign the contract.
Become an employee of the Clavenna family.
She widened her eyes and took several steps back, feeling utterly incredulous.
Only at this moment did she truly understand.
How foolish she had been when she first entered human society.
Had she really become some pitiful being under someone else's control just like that?
"So this is… human scheming?"
A sense of powerlessness filled her heart. Lacy's body went weak, and she nearly couldn't stand.
At this moment, she felt as though she personally experienced Cocotte's hardship.
That feeling of being forced, yet unable to resist.
It was truly unbearable.
Liya ignored Lacy, who was struggling to accept reality, and twisted her waist as she walked over to Cocotte.
Looking at her lying in the cloud, completely dejected and heartbroken.
Liya sighed softly, her gaze softening.
She reached out and gently patted Cocotte's back.
"Alright, we promised you that we wouldn't let other elves force you to go back."
"You're my family's employee. How could I possibly let you go back and inherit the role of queen?"
Cocotte still didn't respond.
Seeing this, Liya grew a bit worried and continued, "Come on, get up. No one's forcing you anymore."
"In the Clavenna household, you're free."
There was still no sound coming from the cloud.
Liya felt uneasy and slowly leaned her head over, testing the waters.
She only heard quiet, extremely steady breathing, "Zzzzzzz..."
"…?"
Liya froze, staring in disbelief at Cocotte, who was completely buried in the cloud, and even nudged her.
There was no response at all.
"She… fell asleep!?"
'Damn it, give me back the worry I just wasted on you!'
She pulled her hand back helplessly and covered her forehead.
"I'm really stupid. Why would I worry about someone so heartless."
But just as she lowered her head, a black figure emerged from the lush depths of the garden.
She stepped past the tall flower walls, blocking out the bright sunlight.
And appeared before everyone.
"Cocotte! Could you help me take a look at, "
The moment the voice sounded, Liya lifted her head and followed it with her gaze.
She saw Henny.
That teaching assistant who was clearly very pretty, yet insisted on wearing a plain, oversized robe.
At this moment, her hand was resting on the buttons at her chest, as if she were about to undo them.
But she also saw Liya, and her movement involuntarily stopped.
Henny looked at Liya. Liya looked at Henny.
Their eyes met.
Without thinking, Liya's words slipped out.
"Henny, you…"
"If you really can't hold it in anymore, you could go find Viktor."